Two air traffic controllers who didn’t show up for work at Sydney airport on Monday caused cascading flight delays and cancellations across the country, while the head of the agency responsible for airspace management defended his almost $1m salary, Senate estimates heard on Monday.
Officials from Airservices Australia, the government agency responsible for air traffic control and airport firefighting services, appeared before the transport and infrastructure Senate estimates. Its CEO, Jason Harfield, was grilled about his personal pay, concerns of organisational bullying, and stubborn staff shortages resulting from a retirement program that saw 140 controllers leave the workforce in 2021.
The opposition senator Bridget McKenzie opened questioning of the agency about active operational disruptions at Sydney airport’s control tower on Monday.
Airservices requested a ground delay program from 3pm Monday until the airport’s curfew at 11pm, which is done to avoid planes holding mid-air. The delay restricted arrivals at Sydney airport to 26 an hour, down from the normal cap of 80 take-offs and landings an hour (roughly split between 40 of each).
McKenzie said this had led to Qantas cancelling flights and an average delay of 72 minutes on Monday, while Virgin had already delayed 47 flights and had an average delay of 95 minutes. This had flow-on effects to airports around the country, as aircraft for onward flights between different cities were delayed or didn’t arrive.
Harfield said the disruptions had nothing to do with weather but were solely related to two air traffic controllers based at Sydney airport’s control tower who were absent from work on Monday, as none of Airservices’ 948 controllers around the country could replace the absent staff. Air traffic controllers are entitled to unlimited sick leave under their terms of employment.
McKenzie said “it’s pretty incredible that two people don’t show up for work and the entire country is shut down”.
Harfield said: “I completely accept that, and this is one of the issues that we’re working through that [when] we have an unplanned absence during the day”.
However, at one point Harfield claimed the retirement program was not the main issue behind the staffing problem because the scheme helped the organisation with training and planning. “If we had not done the retirement incentive scheme, we would have less staff today than we do,” Harfield said.
Disruptions from staff shortages had been improving since the 2021 scheme, but Harfield noted December marked a reversal of the trend, with one in six delayed flights in Australia that month directly attributable to controller shortages. This figure was routinely about one in 10-12 flights before the pandemic, he said.
Airservices expects 50 controllers to become qualified by June and a further 40 by the end of the calendar year.
Despite a recruitment drive, Airservices has struggled to return staffing levels to pre-pandemic operations. In addition to the rigorous testing and training required to become an air-traffic controller – Harfield said it takes two years for a new applicant to become operational – or aviation firefighter, industry sources have claimed bullying is an ongoing concern for Airservices staff.
A review into workplace culture, conducted by the former discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick’s firm, found 27% of staff in 2023 had experienced bullying in the past 12 months, up from 23% in 2020. The figure for staff who had experience sexual harassment was at 9% in the last year, a decrease from 11% in 2020.
“Bullying is perpetrated ‘top down’ as well as between colleagues, and by employees to managers,” the review found.
McKenzie asked Harfield about one staff member’s response from that review, who said “there is a perception that nepotism exists for opportunities and advancement to leadership roles”. Harfield denied there was nepotism on display within his organisation, just a “perception of” nepotism from that employee.
McKenzie asked Harfield what his pay package was, and he replied it was about $950,000 a year.
“You’re taking the rope and running as hard and fast as you can with your million dollar salary whilst you are presiding over an absolute shitshow, let’s be frank,” McKenzie said, as she and other senators questioned why, after five years as CEO, his term was being considered for extension.
Civil Air, the union representing air-traffic controllers, has said there’s “clearly a lot still to be done to improve Airservices’ workplaces and the experience for many employees”.
Wes Garrett, secretary of the United Firefighters Union of Australia aviation branch, whose members are employed by Airservices Australia to work at airports, said his membership was concerned at the effect of bullying on staff retention. “The behaviours are well ingrained,” he said.
